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"A lovely day," commented Ternifle with a slight nod as he greeted a feeble crone that leaned against a crude stick.
"Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" she said, still looking into the distance, her face warm yet distant.
"Thank you, do you happen you know where I may find the mayor?" wondered the young adventurer, adjusting his cap with the faint hint of a smirk on his lips. "I was sent by Princess Veryfete herself!" he boasted smugly.
"Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" she croaked blankly, her eyes never turning towards him.
"I...Pardon?" The man raised an eyebrow and peered deep into the woman's eyes and saw that, open closer examination, her face was rigid and riddled with strange markings that almost looked like squares. "Are you well?" he asked, extending his hand.
"Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" Her voice was hoarser now, raw and unpleasant. There was something cold in her words, so cold that a shiver slithered along his back like a bony finger tracing his spine. There was a faint twitch in her arm, a jerk of a finger.
The man backed away. "Does someone-" His words halted within his mouth when he noticed the other villagers acting in bizarre manners. A man walked forward, turned around, took a step or two, and then turned around once more to repeat himself. A young woman swept a clean floor and an elderly man was raving about the benefits of a potion sold at their shop. "What is this?" he demanded, his hand falling upon the hilt of his blade. Ternifle's fingers coiled around it so tightly that they almost became like the roots of an ancient tree. He drew his sword. "Sorcerer!" he howled, looking this way and that, his eyes leaping from one villager to the next, yet always returning to the crone who he had first approached.
"Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" she growled in a voice to shame the harshest of winds. Her teeth looked sharper now and finger were more animated, they clenched, unfurled, and clenched again, each movement accompanied by a weak crunch. "Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" Her fingers grew faster.
"What did you do to these villagers?" bellowed the hero, moving his blade in an arc, its point tracing the sky. "Come out and face me!"
"Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" screeched the woman, throwing herself at the man. He danced away from that talons that were once her fingers and pointed his blade at the elder.
"Are you-" She came at him again, her talons moving in strange patterns and coming at him from every angle. He noticed her arms snapping and moving in ways they shouldn't, as if new joints were created and sealed at will. Her nails scratched his arm and when he spotted blood, he slashed his blade at her. He had wanted to avoid hurting her, but as she now poses a real threat, he could no longer dodge and hope for her to stop on her own accord. His blade bite deep into her neck, but no blood poured forth, nor did a scream burst from her lips. She merely paused and then resumed her attack. He cut once more and her claw landed on the ground. It sizzled and took the shape of a normal hand once more. Its fingers began to creak and move, curling and uncurling. "What is this!" He ran forward and pierced her heart. She jerked with a shudder and fell limp against him. Ternifle sighed and began to push her corpse away from him when his ears picked up the faintest whisper.
"Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" she groaned before biting deep into his neck. He screamed, kicked her back, and sliced off her head. It fell with a sickening thud, facing him, and with eyes like a beast, it watched him.
"Begone!" he charged forward and slammed his boot into the head, sending it deep into the neighboring woods. He huffed and heaved as he backed away from the accursed village. He sheathed his blade back in its scabbard and felt his neck, but found no wound, only a weak imprint, a mark that felt much like a square. "Damned beast, but at least there's no blood." he concluded with a sigh, examining his naked hand, relieved at finding it dry. His neck pulsed and the man quickly swatted at the wound, and felt two squares. He began to shake. "You b***h! You harlot!" he screamed. "What have you done to me!" His body began to tremble violently as he felt the square markings snake across his neck and face. "Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" he hissed, fighting the words.
"Damned...!" He coughed up blood and fell to his knees. "Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" he rehearsed dully, his eyes quivering at the realization. "Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" He forced him onto his feet and walked to the village entrance, taking a place near where the elderly woman had been standing. "Welcome to Frifi Village! Be sure to check out our shops and inn!" he greeted kindly.